http://www.nwda.co.uk/pdf/AsylumSeekerDocument

Asylum Seeker and Refugee Skills Audit An audit of skills amongst asylum seekers and refugees Report produced by North West Consortium (East) on behalf of the Northwest Regional Development Agency

January 2005 Report authors: Jules Harrison and Emma Read

Contents Section

Page

Acknowledgements Executive Summary

1

1

North West Consortium (East)

4

2

Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Employment

5

3

UK Skills Shortage

8

4

Skills Audit

10

4.1

Methodology

10

4.2

Success / Limitations

10

4.3

Basic Analysis

11

4.4

Age and Gender

12

4.5

Nationalities

13

4.6

Language Analysis

15

4.7

Proficiency in English

19

4.8

Educational Level Analysis

20

4.9

Work Experience Analysis

24

4.10

Refugee Settlement

29

5

Conclusion

31

6

Appendices

33

7

Bibliography

59

8

Glossary

60

Acknowledgements The North West Consortium (East) would like to extend our thanks to the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) for providing the opportunity and funding to carry out the Skills Audit.

Our thanks to the North West Consortium (East) Local Authorities – Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan, who gave their time to complete the questionnaires with clients in their area.

Thanks must also go to all the asylum seekers and refugees who gave their time to contribute to this research project.

This Skills Audit report was written by Jules Harrison and Emma Read from the North West Consortium (East).

Executive Summary The North West Consortium (East) is a Consortium of the 10 Greater Manchester Local Authorities (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan) and Blackburn with Darwen.The Consortium was established in 1999 by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) to facilitate work around asylum issues in the Northwest (East) region.

The Consortium has an enabling role within the region and nationally to promote good practice and the integration and settlement for asylum seekers and refugees. The Consortium also has a contract with the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) for the provision of dispersal accommodation across the 11 member authorities.

In October 2002, North West Consortium (East) hosted a regional Employability Conference, funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The conference aimed to provide delegates with an understanding of some of the issues and barriers affecting the employability of refugees in the region, and to raise the profile of asylum seekers and refugees within the economic landscape of the Northwest. In consultation with conference delegates, the NWDA agreed to fund the North West Consortium (East) to conduct a ‘snapshot’ skills audit of the education and employment history of asylum seekers and refugees living in the region.

For the NWDA, the idea of a skills audit fits within their strategic objectives in relation to economic inclusion, particularly towards understanding barriers to labour market participation by disadvantaged groups. These objectives are outlined in the NWDA ‘Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action’. The Consortium member Local Authorities agreed to support the skills audit on the basis that it would be a useful tool in strategic planning for the training needs and employment potential of asylum seekers and refugees in the region.

The audit aimed to capture information from 1/3rd of all asylum seekers dispersed into Consortium accommodation over a 6-month period. In addition, as many audit questionnaires as possible were to be conducted with people who had been granted refugee status or leave to remain.

240 asylum seeker questionnaires and 31 refugee questionnaires were completed from across the 8 local authorities that agreed to take part in the pilot project.

Findings Profile, Nationality, Main Language and Education: Asylum Seekers: (total 240) ●

73% were men

●

28% were between the ages of 25 and 29

●

88% were under 39 years of age

●

50 nationalities were represented - the five most frequent were Iraq (18%), Iran (9%), Afghanistan (7%), Democratic Republic of Congo (6%) and Angola (6%)

●

The five most common main languages were Kurdish (16%), Arabic (11%), Farsi (10%), French (7%) and Portuguese (7%)

●

36% stated that they could speak, read and write in more than 1 language

●

27% believed that they were fluent in written and spoken English

●

79% had attended Primary School

●

69% had attended High/Secondary School

●

43% had attended Further or Higher Education

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Refugees: (total 31) ●

52% were men

●

29% were between the ages of 25 and 29

●

81% were under 39 years of age

●

10 nationalities were represented – the three most frequent were Iraq (23%), Zimbabwe (19%), and Democratic Republic

●

The four most common main languages were English (23%), French (20%), Kurdish (17%) and Arabic (13%)

●

29% stated that they could speak, read and write in more than 1 language

●

32% believed that they were fluent in written and spoken English

●

77% had attended Primary School

●

68% had attended High/Secondary School

●

26% had attended Further or Higher Education

of Congo (16%)

(All percentages are rounded up.)

Employment Experience and English Language Proficiency: Asylum Seekers and Refugees Of the 193 respondents (asylum seekers and refugees) who gave details of their employment in their country of origin, the four most common standard occupational categories (SOCs - 2000) were: Skilled Trades (23%), Ran own business (18%), Professional Occupations (15%), and Associated Professional and Technical (10%).

Skilled Trades: (44) ●

20% believed that they were fluent in written and spoken English

●

32% stated that they knew only a few written and spoken words in English or no English at all

●

Examples of trades included: Farmers, mechanics, builders, electricians.

Ran own business: (34) ●

26% believed that they were fluent in written and spoken English

●

18% stated that they knew only a few written and spoken words in English or no English at all

●

Examples of businesses included: Clothing business, hairdresser, grocery shop, coffee shop, construction business.

Professional Occupations: (28) ●

39% believed that they were fluent in written and spoken English

●

No respondents felt that they had few written and spoken words in English or no English at all

●

Examples of occupations included: teachers, health professionals, engineering, social work.

Associated Professional and Technical: (19)

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●

37% believed that they were fluent in written and spoken English

●

1 respondent felt that they had few written and spoken words in English or no English at all

●

Examples of occupations included: lab technicians, musicians and armed forces.

Conclusion The skills audit was designed to provide a ‘snap-shot’ of the educational and employment histories of asylum seekers and refugees living in the region. This report should enable service providers to recognise the potential positive contribution of asylum seekers and refugees towards the economy and skills base within the region, and encourage agencies to include the needs of this diverse group within their own strategic planning.

The North West Consortium (East) and NWDA hope to use the skills audit results to inform the development of a regional employment and training strategy for asylum seekers and refugees in the Northwest.

A regional strategy on refugee employment should include the following aspects: ●

Liaison with employers – promote the recruitment of refugees with regional employers, perhaps creating a regional Refugee Employment Forum to facilitate the dissemination of information to employers on asylum and refugee issues.

●

Liaison with employment agencies – assist with the provision of pertinent information for both employers and potential employees and by promoting refugees as skilled workers particularly in skills-shortage fields.

●

Community Cohesion – highlight the positive contribution that refugees make to their communities and encourage fair and balanced media coverage of asylum seeker and refugee issues.

●

Links with FE colleges and ESOL providers – results of educational audits to be used by local colleges to plan the provision of courses. Funding for colleges to provide work-based ESOL courses, and other vocational courses where demand was strong.

●

Referral systems – between employers, employer agencies, education providers and local authority asylum support teams for referral of clients to the appropriate education and employment service providers.

●

Research – an ongoing audit of the skills and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the region. Regular compilation of this data to be used to increase awareness amongst employers.

●

Qualitative research – to ensure that refugee opinions are included in research on general barriers to employment and to develop recommendations for making the transition to employment smoother.

The North West Consortium (East) would like to extend thanks to the NWDA for providing the opportunity and funding to carry out the skills audit, and to the Local Authorities who conducted the questionnaires. Thanks also to the asylum seekers and refugees who gave their time to contribute to this research.

Jules Harrison Emma Read North West Consortium (East)

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1. North West Consortium (East) The functions of the Consortium are managed by a dedicated Project Team, based in Manchester. Operational activities are managed through a Local Authority Operations Group. Strategic and policy activities are directed though a Local Authority Lead Officer’s Group, and the Consortium’s Executive Board. The Executive Board consists of elected members and lead officers from Manchester, Bolton and Rochdale local authorities. Each member Local Authority has a dedicated Asylum Support Team that provides daily advice and guidance to asylum seekers and manages the dispersal accommodation.

Following the Regional Employability Conference in October 2002, this Skills Audit was commissioned against the following background: National Asylum Statistics for 2002.1 Nationalities: The main nationalities of asylum applicants coming to the UK in 2002 were: • Iraqi

17%

• Zimbabwean

9%

• Afghanistan

9%

• Somali

8%

• Chinese

4%

Age of applicants: The majority of principal applicants in 2002 were aged between 18 and 34 (82%).

15% were aged between 35 and 49, and 3% were aged 50 and over.

Gender: 74% of principal applicants in 2002 were male, and 26% female.

Asylum decisions: Overall in 2002, 84,130 asylum applications were made.

10% of those were granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) 23% were granted Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) 67% were refused asylum and ELR A further 9% were given ILR after the appeal stage, and a further 1% were granted ELR. NASS support and dispersal: At the end of December 2002, 54,045 asylum seekers (including dependants) were being supported in NASS accommodation across the UK. The top three dispersal regions in England at the end of December 2002 are shown below:

Region

Numbers

% of total

Northwest

10,310

20% *

West Midlands

10,300

19%

Yorkshire and Humberside

10,215

19%

• This covers the Northwest Region as a whole, including authorities on the West side which are not part of the NWC (East).

1T

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Heath, R Jeffries & A Lloyd, ‘Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2002’, 28 August 2003, p.1-14

2. Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Employment It is clear that the ability to contribute economically, and therefore socially, is vital for asylum seekers and refugees to feel a sense of belonging and investment in the UK. The ability to gain employment is viewed as a key indicator or measurement of the success of an individual’s integration into their host country.

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) – an umbrella organisation of European non-governmental organisations concerned with refugees - believes that refugees are key social actors in the country of asylum, and states that: ‘Education, training and employment policies have a significant impact on the empowerment of refugees and affect not only their economic integration but also their socio-cultural integration. The extent to which education, training and employment are accessible to refugees, whatever their religious, cultural or ethnic background, can contribute to how far refugees are able to take advantage of opportunities available and to fully participate in the host society without losing their own cultural or religious identity.’ 3 ECRE puts forward a number of specific policy recommendations in relation to access to the labour market, access to vocational training, discrimination in the labour market and recognition of overseas qualifications.

Currently, the situation regarding the employability of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK is mired in confusion. This stems in part from government policy relating to the differences between short-term support for asylum seekers, and longerterm integration for refugees.

Government policy on the issue of employment of asylum seekers is clear - since July 2002, asylum seekers are not entitled to work whilst they are awaiting the decision on their asylum claim. This removal of the right to work was designed to discourage people from claiming asylum for economic reasons. The rules governing volunteering for asylum seekers can also be misleading - asylum seekers are allowed to volunteer but can only receive limited remuneration for expenses.

Refugees, people with leave to remain, and entrants via skilled migration routes, are entitled to work, have access to welfare benefits and can apply for National Insurance Numbers.

The Government’s White Paper - Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain (February 2002) set out how the Government proposed to develop their core principles relating to nationality, immigration and asylum policy, and their commitment to resolving the difficulties faced by refugees trying to enter the job market. Due in part to skills shortages in areas such as health care and the hotel and catering trades, the Government has introduced various migrant programmes designed to encourage migrants to apply for entry into the UK on skill-supply grounds as opposed to applying for asylum. The Government clearly sees employment as a key area for refugees who are seeking to integrate themselves in the UK and as a tool to prevent social exclusion. Employment is included in the Government’s refugee integration strategy.

The Home Office report ‘Full and Equal Citizens’ asserts that: ‘for highly motivated and skilled people not to be fulfilling their potential in work is clearly a waste. Ensuring that refugees return rapidly to their former related careers is in the best interests of themselves and their families, as well as the wider interests of the community.’ 4 ‘Full and Equal Citizens’ also makes reference to the work of the National Refugee Integration Forum (NRIF), a national forum that brings together local authorities, voluntary organisations, government departments and private sector agencies to monitor and steer development of a national strategy for integration. The NRIF carries out the majority of its work through 9 sub groups, one of which is the Employment, Training and Adult Education sub group.

3

ECRE, ‘Position on the Integration of Refugees in Europe’, December 2002, p.16 Office, ‘Full and Equal Citizens: A strategy for the integration of refugees into the United Kingdom’, 2000, p.7.

4Home

Page 5

The Employment subgroup is considering data on the profile of refugee job seekers; issues around the recognition of overseas qualifications; work with employers to promote refugees as employees; and consultation with Department for Work and Pensions to develop a policy on refugee employment. They are also working to address issues around access to training and education, provision of ESOL, permission to work documentation and employer awareness of refugees.

This subgroup is chaired by Patrick Wintour, who also manages the Employability Forum – a Forum which is working towards integrating refugees into the national workforce. The Employability Forum is aiming to develop a framework to assess the skills and experiences of refugees, particularly regarding competence in English Language. The Forum is also working to promote English Language teaching, ensure refugees have access to careers advice and preparation, and is helping to establish lines of communication and remove barriers. The Forum also aims to ensure that positive images of refugees are presented in the workplace.

Barriers to Employment: The report ‘Refugee opportunities and barriers in employment and training’ by Alice Bloch, published by Department for Work and Pensions, identified that English language and literacy was the main barrier to preventing refugees from getting a job. Furthermore, the lack of work experience was identified as the main barrier by nearly one-fifth of refugees and a barrier by 42%. Other barriers mentioned most often were the absence of qualifications, lack of familiarity with the UK system, and employer discrimination.5 Another important finding from this research was that the types of employment refugees were able to access when coming to the UK was much more limited than the jobs they had in their countries of origin. This was particularly highlighted in the notable lack of involvement in professional level jobs, despite previous experience.6 Personnel Today (2001) have also undertaken a survey of refugees to find out why they are not getting into the employment market. Many respondents reported that, although they had relevant UK work experience backed up by an overseas qualification, employers responded that they did not attach value to such qualifications. The survey identified various ways in which employers could be encouraged in the employment of refugees: the development of a national database of refugees, measures to cut red tape, and help in understanding how they can verify overseas work experience and the equivalence of overseas qualifications.

Skills Audits: A number of similar Skills Audit projects have and are taking place across the country, looking to evaluate the skills and qualifications of asylum seekers and refugees. Similar projects have also been undertaken by: • The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) • The Mayor of London in association with Refugee Women’s Association • Southampton City Council • The Back to Work Company (in West Yorkshire) • The Home Office Immigration Research and Statistics Service (IRSS) undertook a skills audit between November 2002 and January 2003 to look at gaining more understanding of the vocational and language skills, employment history and qualifications of refugees, and how these relate in the UK context.

5Alice 6ibid.

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Bloch, ‘Refugees opportunities and barriers in employment and training’, Department for Work 2002, p.113-114 p.124

Government Legislation: Currently, through government legislation: • Asylum seekers do not have the right to work while their application is being considered. This right was withdrawn in July 2002 (those with work permits issued before then are allowed to work).

• Asylum seekers do not have an entitlement to enter government training schemes.

• Asylum seekers have the right to volunteer.

• Refugees (those given ILR) have the right to work in the UK on exactly the same terms as UK citizens.

• Those who have received ELR, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave have the right to work for the period for which they have been granted Leave to remain.

• Refugees are entitled to enter all government training programmes (e.g. New Deal, Work Based Learning for Adults) and Further and Higher Education.

• Employers, under the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act, are subject to penalty fines if they are caught employing someone without the correct documentation which proves they are entitled to work.

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3. UK Skills Shortage Any employment strategy for refugees should take account of the UK labour market, to identify booming and declining sectors and therefore to maximise the potential skills and qualifications of this group.

The Skillsbase website, which tracks such trends, has identified that there has been an increase, during the last thirty years, in demand for skilled employees compared to low-skilled employees. For example, in 1971, manual occupations accounted for around half of all employment, but by 1999 this proportion had fallen to below 40%. At the same time, jobs in managerial, professional and associate professional categories expanded to account for 37% of the workforce in 1999, compared with 27% in 1971.

A number of explanations have been put forward to account for this change, including the introduction of new technologies, changes in trade patterns – including growing competition from low wage countries and increased market pressures - and changes in how work is organised and structured.7 The national trend of a declining demand for manual occupations is reflected in the Northwest and is set to continue in the region as manufacturing is expected to decline by some 100,000 jobs over the next 10 years (14% of the total job losses in this sector). Business and miscellaneous services are predicted to dominate the overall employment increases establishing 1.78 million new jobs across the UK over the period to 2010.

Overall, the Northwest is expected to incur job losses at a rate of around 2% per annum, and alongside Scotland, London and the North East, is projected to experience employment growth at a slower rate than across the UK as a whole.8 Alongside this research, the Government has, in recent years, identified a number of skills shortages in certain sectors of the UK labour market, and has begun to highlight the significance of this for the economy: ‘The skills of our people are a vital national asset. Skills help businesses achieve the productivity, innovation and profitability needed to compete. They help our public services provide the quality and choice that people want. They help individuals raise their employability, and achieve their ambitions for themselves, their families and their communities. Sustaining a competitive, productive economy which delivers prosperity for all requires an ever growing proportion of skilled, qualified people. We will not achieve a fairer, more inclusive society if we fail to narrow the gap between the skills-rich and the skills-poor.’ 9 The Employers Skill Survey (ESS) 2002 estimated that there were currently 550,000 vacancies in the national job market 45% (245,000) were said by employers to be hard to fill and of those, 46% (approx. 110,000) were defined as skill-shortage vacancies.10 The ESS detailed the five most commonly cited hard-to-fill vacancies as sales assistants, elementary personal service, health associate professionals, customer service occupations, and transport drivers and operatives.11 Furthermore, the survey found that skill-shortage vacancies were most likely to occur among professional staff (most commonly in education), associate professionals (in health and social care) and skilled trade (in construction), which coincidently also suffered the most from recruitment difficulties.12

Page 8

7 see

11 www.skillsbase.dfes.gov.uk

8

12 op.cit.

www.skillsbase.dfes.gov.uk, Change in demand, p.2 www.skillsbase.dfes.gov.uk, Projections – Regional Trends, p.4-5 9 www.skillsbase.dfes.gov.uk - Definitions 10 www.skillsbase.dfes.gov.uk – Employers Skill Surveys, p.1

– Skills Deficiencies, p.3 Employers Skill Surveys, p.1

Clearly, the Government recognises the implications of not tackling the issue of skill-shortage - which at its most serious can result in a loss of business to competitors, and lead to difficulties in reaching quality standards. The data obtained in the 2002 ESS Survey confirms that a shortage of skills is a key factor that may prevent an organisation from achieving their goals, stating: ‘The implication is that there is considerable scope for further investment in skill acquisition if the ambition of securing a long term improvement in economic performance is to be achieved.’ 13 Government interest in managing the increase in migration across Europe has most likely been affected by this need to reduce skills shortages. The Home Office Immigration & Nationality Directorate launched a Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) on 28 January 2002. The HSMP was originally a pilot programme, designed to allow exceptionally talented people to apply to work in the UK - based on a points system rather than compelling employers to apply for an individual’s work permit. Following its success, the programme has been extended indefinitely. Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes (MP) announced in October 2003 that the HSMP has taken on 3,721 people in fields such as medicine, music and engineering: ‘We will shortly be expanding the scheme to attract and enable skilled applicants to work in the UK and to take the achievements of partners into account when considering an application… The Government welcomes those with the skills to help the UK prosper both economically and culturally.’ 14 Medicine: The Refugee Council and the British Medical Association have introduced a database specifically for refugee doctors, to assist them as they prepare to continue their medical careers in the UK. The Department of Health has also recommended that refugees should be offered free clinical attachments, to which some local health authorities have responded positively.

Furthermore, the BMA have waived the fees for PLAB Part 1 exams for those with ELR or refugee status.

13

op.cit. Skills Deficiencies p.7 Office Press Notice 276/2003

14 Home

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4. Skills Audit 4.1 Methodology A questionnaire consisting mainly of tick box questions was developed (see Appendix 8), collecting data on: • Nationality • Languages – spoken, written, read • Age • Dependants • Employment experience in particular fields • Length of employment • Schooling levels • English Language proficiency The skills questionnaire was conducted by some of the member Local Authority Asylum Teams in the North West Consortium region: Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford.

The audit set out to collect data from two main groups of client: • Asylum Seekers dispersed to the Northwest Region.

• People with positive asylum decisions who had been living in the Northwest.

It was agreed that each Asylum Seeker Team (AST) would aim to complete a questionnaire for roughly a third of all asylum seekers who arrived during the initial three-month pilot. This was then be followed by an additional three-month period.

The project commenced on 18th November 2002, and ended 6th June 2003.

The Audit also aimed to capture up to 50% of clients who had been given positive asylum decisions, and who could decide to remain in the Northwest. Audit questionnaires for this group also included questions on whether or not the clients were aiming to stay in the Northwest and what type of employment they were hoping to get.

The decision to complete skills questionnaires at the same time as AST staff were conducting other interviews meant that existing arrangements regarding interpreters could be utilised. There was also the option for some ASTs to work in partnership with local colleges/ESOL providers, in order to complete questionnaires as part of induction into the college. This system was used in Bolton for some of their questionnaires.

4.2

Success/Limitations There were a number of issues that affected the scope of the skills audit. These include: 1) Not all member LAs could commit to involvement in the Skills Audit, due mainly to constraints of staff time and resources.

2) Most LAs were unable to complete the recommended number of questionnaires, particularly for refugee clients.

This was due to a shortage in staff resources, distrust from clients as to the reasons for the audit, and the priorities of new refugees when facing issues relating to housing and support. On receiving a positive decision, new refugees can remain in NASS-supported accommodation for a maximum of 28 days – in practice this is often

Page 10

closer to 14 days once the decision has been passed through the system - therefore refugees have little time in which to complete questionnaires and are occupied in finding accommodation and employment.

3) There was some lack of consistency across different ASTs in terms of the assumptions and standards employed in completing the questionnaires. This may have been borne out of the need for more formal training on completion of the questionnaire, and also due to limitations on staff time and resources.

4) Due to the nature of the skills audit, questionnaires were only conducted by ASTs within local authorities. This has meant that the results are limited to the profile of asylum seekers the Consortium receives through dispersal, which is also dependent on the profile of our accommodation matching the requirements of those asylum seekers awaiting dispersal. There are a large number of asylum seekers dispersed to Private Sector Providers in the region who have not been included in this audit.

5) Questionnaires were mainly restricted to the main applicants of each asylum case, which is predominantly the male in the family. Therefore, there is the risk that the results miss the skills and employment histories of women.

6) Overall, numbers of asylum seekers have dropped throughout 2003 particularly since the Government introduced the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. In particular, Section 55 allows for the refusal of support for those not claiming asylum ‘as soon as reasonably practical’. NASS do still have significant numbers of large families in Emergency Accommodation awaiting dispersal. Unfortunately, Consortium properties cannot cater for many of these families. This coupled with the drop in single asylum seekers eligible for NASS support because of Section 55 has meant a gradual reduction in the number of people being dispersed to the region.

4.3

Basic Analysis Throughout the analysis, the results from the asylum seekers and refugee audits are detailed separately.

Asylum Seeker audit: A questionnaire was agreed to be completed for every one in three asylum seekers, therefore a target of 400 surveys were expected from 8 Local Authorities within the Consortium. 240 asylum seeker questionnaires were completed, making the overall rate of return 60%.

Local Authority Blackburn

Target number

Number of surveys

of surveys

completed

40

60

Bolton

75

19

Bury

40

32

Manchester

80

68

Rochdale

65

10

Stockport

30

14

Tameside

40

28

Trafford

30

9

TOTALS

400

240

Oldham, Salford and Wigan local authorities did not take part in the audit.

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Refugee audit: 31 refugee questionnaires were completed.

Local Authority

Total number of surveys completed

Bolton

18

Bury

8

Stockport

3

Trafford

2

TOTAL

31

4.4

Age and Gender Asylum Seekers audit: 73.3% of respondents were male, 23.3% were female, 3.3% not known. Respondents were aged between 18 and 60+, with the majority of respondents being between 25 and 29 years old (28%). 88.4% of asylum seeker respondents were under 39 years old.

The audit respondents can be seen to reflect the typical profile of asylum seekers in general, with many more male respondents than female. This is representative of the fact that many asylum seekers are young males, either singles, or as the head of families. The age range is also typical of the type of people who claim asylum – those who may be avoiding conscription into armed forces, those whose families pay for them to leave before they become involved in systems that may lead to economic, political or cultural oppression, and those who are healthy enough to survive often arduous journeys.

Refugees audit: 52% of refugee respondents were male, 48% were female. Respondents were aged between 18 and 59, with the majority of respondents being between 25 and 29 years old (29%). 81% of respondents were under 39 years old.

The refugee audit is slightly different in terms of gender and age profile, with more women and younger people represented. Whilst it is difficult to extrapolate robustly from such a small sample, it is useful to highlight some of the reasons why the audit may give an insight into the profile of the refugee population. Whilst a large proportion of asylum seekers are young men, within refugee populations the spread across family and gender type is broader.

Women (either single women or single parents) are often subject to visible forms of persecution that may make their asylum claim stronger. The rape of women is a common result of persecution and is often used as a tool of war. Many women claim asylum following the disappearance or death of their husbands or fathers as they feel that this points to credible risks to their own lives. The vulnerability of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people who have lost their families also makes it more likely that they will be given some sort of leave to remain.

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Nationalities Asylum Seekers audit: 50 nationalities were represented in the audit, with the top seven nationalities detailed below: Iraqis

18%

Iranians

9%

Afghans

7%

Congolese

6%

Angolans

6%

Zimbabweans

5%

Other African

11%

(representing 14 African countries)

The remainder of respondents came from 30 other countries – see Appendix 1 for a complete breakdown of asylum seekers by nationality.

Top 7 Nationalities

No. of Asylum Seekers

4.5

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

93

44 21

Iraq

Iran

26 16

14

Afghanistan Democratic Republic of Congo

13

13

Angola

Zimbabwe

Other African

Other Nationalities

Nationality

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Refugees audit: 10 nationalities were represented in the refugee survey, and were broken down as follows: Iraqis

23%

Zimbabweans

19%

Congolese

16%

Somalis

7%

Sudanese

7%

Iranians

7%

Pakistanis

7%

Other African

10%

(representing 3 countries – Cameroon, Burundi and one unknown)

Refugees by Nationality 8

7

No. of Refugees

7

6

6

5

5 4 3

3 2

2

2

2

2 1

1

1 0 Somalia

Dem. Rep. Congo

Angola

Sudan

Zimbabwe

Other African

Iraq

Iran

Pakistan

Others/ Not Known

Nationality

The representation of over 50 countries within such as a small sample of respondents is testament to the diversity both of asylum seekers in general and of the regional asylum seeker and refugee population. The policy of dispersal of asylum seekers away from London and the South East to the regions has contributed greatly to the complexity of nationality and culture within local communities across the Northwest. This very effectively highlights the situation that local service providers face in ensuring access to their services for such a complex cultural and lingual client base.

The nationalities represented in both asylum seeker and refugee audits largely correspond with the national picture of who is claiming asylum. Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan are countries characterised by religious and civil oppression and war and which have been internationally acknowledged as such for a number of years. Similarly, African countries such as Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo are countries where the human rights of nationals are consistently undermined by the actions of government and various warring factions.

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4.6

Language Analysis A substantial number of questions in the audit asked about language. Primarily this was to identify a client’s main language(s), and to ascertain their literacy level in this language and other languages if applicable. Therefore, the questionnaires collected information on people’s ability to speak, read and write in different languages. For example, one refugee might have indicated that two languages applied to them in general, and he/she could have indicated that they could write in both of those languages. Another example might be that an asylum seeker indicated that they could speak in all three languages, but could only read or write in one of those languages.

The table below compares the responses of both asylum seekers and refugees.

‘All that Apply’ refers to the languages that asylum seekers and refugees felt applied to them in general - so it could be languages they could speak or write for example. ‘Can Read’ refers to the languages respondents felt they could read, ‘Can Speak’ indicates the languages asylum seekers and refugees felt they could speak, and finally ‘Can Write’ refers to the languages respondents could write.

Unfortunately some respondents did not answer, and responses varied in that some did not answer the ‘all that apply’ question, but gave detail on languages they could speak, read and write, for example, 64% of asylum seekers indicated that one language applied to them, but 66% indicated they could read one language.

For the sake of clarity, percentages have been rounded up to the nearest whole number. All percentages refer to the total number of respondents that replied to each individual question.

See below for a breakdown of all asylum seeker languages that apply.

Language Profile

All that Apply

No. of Languages

a/s

One Language Two Languages

Can Read

ref.

a/s

64%

71%

27%

22%

Can Speak

ref.

a/s

66%

76%

30%

20%

Can Write

ref.

a/s

ref.

56%

70%

68%

76%

32%

22%

27%

20%

Three Languages

8%

7%

3%

4%

10%

9%

4%

4%

Four Languages

1%

0%

1%

0%

2%

0%

1%

0%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Overall, a high proportion of asylum seekers and refugees replied that they felt one language applied to them in general and the majority felt they could speak, read and write in one language only, with slightly more refugees responding positively to one language compared with asylum seekers.

Almost a third of asylum seekers felt they could read, speak and write in two languages, compared to approximately a quarter of refugees. A small percentage of asylum seekers felt they could read, speak and write in four languages.

Overall, 36% of asylum seeker respondents and 29% of refugee respondents indicated that they could read, speak and write in more than 1 language, which illustrates the range of skills and potential the asylum seekers had. See Appendix 3 for pie charts depicting these statistics.

Page 15

All languages that asylum seekers felt applied to them.

Other

48

English

20

Punjabi

8

Sorani

4

Amharic

4

Spanish

3

Tigrean

6

Lingala

13

Swhaili

8 6

Polish Czech

7

Turkish

4

Russian

10

Portugese

18

Urdu

13

Albanian

7

Romanian

1

Somali

5

Pushtu

6

French

33

Dari

11 43

Arabic Farsi

30 40

Kurdish 0

10

20

30

40

Frequency (No’s.)

Note: Figures do not equal total number of respondents to the survey.

Below is a graphical representation of the languages indicted in the ‘Other’ category.

Page 16

50

60

Language

Breakdown of ‘other’ langauges Zulu Xhosa South Korean Sindhi Shena Romany Ratan Oclog Ndebele Mongolian Mandinka Lugando Lithusnian Lango Kirunish Italian Ishan Gypsy Gujrati German Fula Edo Crio Chiluba Bosnian Kakcu Armenian

2 1 1 1 8 1 1 1 5 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Frequency (No’s.)

See Appendix 2 for a table detailing the ‘other’ languages asylum seekers and refugees felt applied to them, their main languages and the languages they can speak, read and write.

Main Language: Respondents were then asked to indicate which language they considered to be their main language. The most common main language was Kurdish (15.7%), followed by Arabic (11.2%), then Farsi (10%), then French (6.9%) and Portuguese (6.5%). 16.9% listed ‘Other’ main languages, including English (3.6%) and Shona (2.4%). See Appendix 2 for a table detailing the other 17 main languages.

Spoken Languages: The most commonly spoken language was Arabic at 13.3%. The second most common languages was Kurdish (10.4%), then French at 9.8%, followed by Farsi (8.9%) and English (5.6%, listed in ‘Other’). 18.9% listed ‘Other’ spoken languages, which included Shona (2.4%) and Ndebele (1.2%). See Appendix 2 for a table detailing the other 25 spoken languages.

Page 17

Languages respondents could read: The language most common in this category was Arabic (13.3% of languages ticked), followed by Kurdish (10.9%), French (9.5%), Farsi (8.8%) and Portuguese (6.3%). ‘Other’ languages represented 18.6% of languages ticked and include English (6%) and Shona 2.8%. See Appendix 2 for a table detailing the other 19 spoken languages.

Written Languages: Arabic was the most common language respondents could write - representing 12.9% of total respondents in this section.

11.1% of respondents could write in Kurdish, 9.7% French, 9% Farsi and 6.5% Portuguese. 19.4% could write in ‘Other’ languages, including English (6.1%) and Shona (2.2%). See Appendix 2 for a table detailing the other 20 languages.

Refugees audit Below is a complete breakdown of all the refugee languages that apply:

All languages that refugees felt applied to them.

Not Known

1

Shona

1

Saraik

1

Burundi

1

English

11

Punjabi

1

Lingala

2

Urdu

3

Somali

2

French

6

Arabic

4 2

Farsi Kurdish

5 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Frequency (No’s.)

Of those that ticked ‘Other’, additional information showed that 11 of those listed English, 1 listed Shona, 1 listed Burundi, 1 listed Saraik and 1 language was unknown.

A comparison between the information given by asylum seekers and refugees on languages (all that apply) reveals that Arabic, French, Kurdish and Farsi feature in both samples as the most common languages.

Overall, the data on main languages reflects that of the key nationalities. These languages are the most common languages spoken in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and parts of Africa.

Main Language: The most common main language among refugees was English (23.3%, listed under ‘other’), followed by French (20%), Kurdish (16.7%), and Arabic (13.3%). See Appendix 2 for a table listing the other 5 main languages.

Page 18

Spoken Languages: The most commonly spoken language was French and English, representing 17.6% of responses each. These were followed

by Arabic and Kurdish at 11.8% each, and Urdu (8.8%). See Appendix 2 for a table listing the other 7 spoken languages.

Languages respondents could read: The language most commonly able to be read was English, representing 23.5% of responses. This is followed by Arabic (17.6), French (14.7%), and Kurdish and Urdu (both representing 8.8% of the total responses). See Appendix 2 for a table detailing the other 6 read languages.

Written Languages: English was the most common language respondents could write - representing 23.5% of total respondents in this section, followed by Arabic (17.6%), French (14.7%) and Kurdish and Urdu – each representing 8.8% of the total responses in this section. See Appendix 2 for a table listing the other 6 written languages.

Interestingly, more refugees could write English (23.5%) compared to only 6.1% of asylum seekers. This could be due to the delay many asylum seekers face in waiting for a decision on their asylum application; together with the fact that many asylum seekers are keen to access English classes.

4.7

Proficiency in English Asylum Seeker audit: The levels of proficiency in spoken and written English varied across the respondents. 27% believed themselves to be fluent in written and spoken English, 35% felt they had some written and spoken English, and 17% felt they had some spoken English language skills. As the table below shows, more females (as a percentage) felt they were fluent in written and spoken English compared to males. Furthermore, of the 236 respondents to this question, 6 stated they had an ESOL qualification, representing 3% of the total.

Level of English Language Fluent written & spoken

Total

Male

Female

Gender Unknown

%

No.

%

No.

%.

No.

%.

No.

27

64

23

41

39

21

67

2

Fluent spoken

5

12

7

12

0

0

0

0

Some written & spoken

35

83

37

66

31

17

0

0

Some spoken

17

39

17

31

13

7

33

1

Few words written & spoken

10

24

11

19

9

5

0

0

No English at all TOTALS ESOL qualification

6

14

6

10

7

4

0

0

100

236

100

179

100

54

100

3

3

6

1

2

2

4

0

0

Note: 4 asylum seekers did not respond to this question, therefore percentages refer to the 236 that did.

All figures are rounded up to the nearest whole number.

No additional details were asked of those who stated they had an ESOL qualification, so qualifications may vary.

Page 19

Refugees audit The proficiency in spoken and written English was marginally better compared with the asylum seeker sample. 32% felt they were fluent in written and spoken English, 26% felt they had some written and spoken English, and 16% stating they had no English at all. As the table below shows, more females (as a percentage) felt they were fluent in written and spoken English compared to males.

Level of English Language

Total

Male

Female

%

No.

%

No.

%.

No.

Fluent written & spoken

32

10

25

4

40

6

Fluent spoken

7

2

13

2

0

0

Some written & spoken

26

8

25

4

27

4

Some spoken

10

3

19

3

0

0

Few words written & spoken

10

3

13

2

7

1

No English at all

16

5

6

1

27

4

TOTALS

100

31

100

16

100

15

3

1

3

1

0

0

ESOL qualification

Note: Percentages do not always total 100, due to rounding up.

No additional details were asked of those who stated they had an ESOL qualification, so qualifications may vary.

4.8

Educational Level Analysis This section of the questionnaire was designed to collect information on the type of schooling each client had received, and for how long they received it. The questions specified Primary, High School and Further Education/Higher Education and options for none, not known and other.

Asylum Seeker audit: Primary School: 79% of respondents attended primary school, and of this figure, 72% were male, 27% women, (1% information missing). The majority (52) of respondents had received 6 years primary school education.

Further analysis of the data revealed that 92% of female respondents (representing 56/240 total questionnaires) had received primary education, and 76% of men (180/240) had attended primary school. Average attendance was 5.6 years.

High School: 69% of respondents attended high school, and of this figure, 72% were male and 26% were female, (2% information missing). The majority (26) listing 4 years of attendance at high school.

Further analysis of the data revealed that 77% of the total female respondents attended high school, compared with 66% of males. On average, respondents had received 5 years of high school education.

Page 20

Further Education Higher Education: 43% of respondents (104/240) had attended Further Education or Higher Education. Of this figure 75% were male, and 24% female (1% information missing). A total of 32 subjects were studied at further/higher education institutions.

Appendix 4 gives a full breakdown of some of the detail respondents provided. Subjects ranged from accountancy, teaching, electronics, mechanical engineering, business/ administration and IT to psychology. Information was limited regarding the specific qualifications respondents had, but many stated they had attained diplomas, bachelor degrees and 1 respondent had attained a masters degree.

Further analysis of the data revealed that 45% of females had further education or high education qualifications, compared with 43% of males.

Those who attended some form of further or higher education did so for 3.4 years on average. The majority (23) stated they had received 2 years of this level of education.

Overall, the data suggests that asylum seekers had not completed their courses for reasons such as war, economic difficulties or being forced to leave their country.

Refugee audit: Primary School: A similar number of refugees as asylum seekers had attended primary school. A total of 77% attended primary school, 46% of whom were male and 54% female. The majority (4) of respondents had received 6 years primary school education. As with the Asylum Seeker Audit, a higher proportion of females (87%) had received primary education compared with male respondents (69%).The average attendance was 5.5 years.

High School: 68% of refugees had received high school education, 52% of whom were male and 48% female. The majority (3) listing 5 years of attendance at high school.

Further analysis revealed that 67% of females had attended high school, compared with 69% of male - again a similar level of the attainment as asylum seekers. On average, respondents had received 5.9 years of high school education.

Further Education/Higher Education: 26% of refugees received Further or Higher Education, split evenly between male and females. Of the 8 refugees who had received further/ higher education, 5 did not specify what subject they had studied, however the remaining three studied business management, marketing and sales management, and civil engineering.

Further analysis of this data revealed that 27% of female respondents had received further or higher education, compared with 25% of males.

Those who attended some form of further or higher education did so, on average for 4 years.

Page 21

See below for a breakdown of length of time in schooling: Asylum Seekers Length of time at level of education

Primary School

High School

Further Education/ Higher Education

1 Year

2

1

9

2 Years

6

10

23

3 Years

6

14

17

4 Years

13

26

15

5 Years

21

19

8

6 Years

52

23

1

7 Years

16

7

1

8 Years

10

4

1

9 Years

1

0

0

10 Years

2

4

0

11 Years

0

1

0

12 Years

1

2

0

Primary School

High School

Further Education/ Higher Education

% of people attending

79%

69%

43%

Total no. of people attending

190

165

104

length in schooling

130

111

75

Total years of schooling

734

556

227

Average years of schooling

5.6

5

3

No. of respondents who specified

Note: One respondent specified they had attended Higher Education/Further Education for 17 years and another one for 18 years.

These have been removed from the table above in order to calculate a more accurate average year of schooling.

See Appendix 4 for a breakdown of FE/HE subjects.

Page 22

Refugees Length of time at level of education

Primary School

High School

Further Education/ Higher Education

1 Year

0

0

0

2 Years

0

0

2

3 Years

1

1

0

4 Years

0

0

0

5 Years

2

3

2

6 Years

4

1

1

7 Years

1

2

0

8 Years

0

0

0

Primary School

High School

Further Education/ Higher Education

77%

68%

26%

24

21

8

length in schooling

8

8

5

Total years of schooling

44

47

20

Average years of schooling

5.5

5.9

4

% of people attending Total no. of people attending No. of respondents who specified

Note: One respondent specified they had attended High School for 9 years; this however has not been included in the table above in order to calculate a more accurate average year of schooling.

Page 23

4.9

Work Experience Analysis This section was intended to gather information pertaining to the employment experience of asylum seekers and refugees. Respondents were asked to provide information on their careers in their country of origin and the length of time they were employed for. They were asked to place their occupations under pre-defined headings such as ‘hotel and catering’ and ‘semi-skilled manual’.

The audit was designed to capture as much information as possible about what type of employment respondents had been engaged in prior to seeking asylum. As a result, the categories listed in the audit were broad and designed to encourage people to respond with as much detail as possible.

When the audit results were analysed, however, this information was re-classified where possible to fit with UK employment categories – Standard Occupational Classifications 2000 (SOC). In some cases (269) the lack of detail provided by respondents made it difficult to classify them under the SOCs. In addition, SOCs do not include activities such as ‘housewife’, ‘student’ or ‘unemployed’.

For the purpose of analysing the potential contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to the UK employment field, the following analysis has been limited to the results as re-classified under the SOCs. Data showing the original categorisation is shown in Appendix 5.

The Standard Occupational Classifications, 2000 (SOC), are sub divided into the following major groups: Managers & Senior Officials, Professional Occupations, Associated Professional & Technical, Administrative & Secretarial, Skilled Trade, Personal Services, Sales & Customer Service, Process, Plant & Machine Operatives, Elementary Occupations, Other, Ran own Business.

Following the reclassification, the data below represents information given on 193 occupations.

All percentages relate to the audit results from the 193 occupations detailed.

Of those 193 asylum seekers and refugees who gave details of their occupations, 22.8% were employed in ‘skilled trades’ - which was the most popular employment field. 17.6% of respondents ‘ran their own business’, the second most popular form of occupation, followed by ‘professional occupations’ (14.5%). See the table below for further information.

Page 24

Employment Experience

Ran Own Business

17.6

Other

2.1

Occupatonal Classifications

Elementary Occupations

7.8 4.7

Process, Plant and Machine Operatives Sales and Customer Services

6.2

Personal Services

4.1 22.8

Skilled Trades 6.2

Aministrative and Secretarial

9.8

Assoc. Professional and Technical Professional

14.5

Professional Occupations 4.1

Managers and Senior Officials 0

5

10

15

20

25

Percentage

Following on from the re-classification detailed above, respondents whose work experience matched the SOCs were analysed in terms of their fluency in English. This analysis provides an invaluable insight into: ●

The correlation between certain skills/occupations with fluency in English.

●

The importance of having accessible good quality English language teaching at an appropriate level.

●

The potential need for vocationally appropriate English language teaching.

●

The potential to maximise the skills and experience brought into the region by asylum seekers and refugees.

The analysis below highlights some of the different jobs categorised under the SOCs and provides an indication of the numbers of respondents with that occupation who stated they were fluent in English. This analysis combines the results from both the asylum seeker and refugee audits, however, only those respondents who supplied enough detail for the reclassification exercise detailed above are included.

Appendix 6 contains a more detailed analysis of this matching between occupational information and fluency in English. For ease of comparison, only those respondents who described their ability to communicate in English as either fluent, or who stated that they could only speak or write a few words of English/had no English skills at all, are included in the analysis.

Managers & Senior Officials: 1 Corporate Manager and Senior Official 1 Production Manager 1 Manager in Distribution, Storage and Retailing 3 Protective Service Officers (incl. 1 refugee) 1 Manager and Proprietor in Hospitality and Leisure Services (refugee) 1 Manager and Proprietor in Other Service Industries 50% of the asylum seekers and 100% of refugees in this category stated that they were fluent in written and spoken English.

Page 25

Professional Occupations: 3 Engineering Professionals 3 Health Professionals 16 Teaching Professionals (incl. 1 refugee) 1 Legal Professional 1 Business and Statistical Professional 3 Public Service Professionals 1 Librarian and Related Professional 41% of asylum seekers in this category stated they were fluent in written and spoken English.

Associated Professional & Technical: 1 Science and Engineering Technician 2 Health Associate Professionals 2 Social Welfare Associate Professionals 4 Protective Service Occupations 4 Artistic and Literacy Occupations (incl. 1 refugee) 2 Media Associate Professional (incl. 1 refugee) 1 Sports and Fitness occupation (refugee) 2 Sales and Related Associate Professionals 1 Public Service and Other Associate Professional (refugee) 33% of asylum seekers in this category and 50% of refugees stated they were fluent in written and spoken English.

Administrative & Secretarial: 2 Administrative occupations – Government and Related organisations 3 Administrative occupations – Finance (incl. 1 refugee) 5 Administrative occupations – General (incl. 2 refugees) 2 Secretarial and Related Occupations 44% of asylum seekers and 33% of refugees in this category stated they were fluent in written and spoken English.

Skilled Trades: 15 Agricultural Trades 2 Metal Forming, welding and related Trades 6 Vehicle Trades 8 Electrical Trades 2 Construction Trades 5 Building Trades 1 Textiles and Garments Trades 4 Food Preparation Trades 1 Skilled Trade (refugee) Of the 43 asylum seekers whose occupations fitted into the Skilled Trades category, 21% responded that they were fluent in written and spoken English, and 33% stated that they only knew a few written and spoken words in English or had no English at all.

Page 26

Personal Services: 1 Leisure and Travel Services (refugee) 6 Hairdressers and Related Occupations 1 Housekeeping Occupations Of the 7 asylum seekers in this category, 43% were fluent in written and spoken English and 14% stated they had few words or had no English at all. The refugee in this category was fluent in written and spoken English.

Sales & Customer Service: 10 Sales Assistants and Retail Cashiers (incl. 2 refugees) 2 Sales Related Occupations (refugees) 38% of asylum seekers in this category stated they were fluent in English, with 13% stating they had few words or had no English at all. Of the 4 refugees in this category, 3 stated they were fluent in English and 1 had few words/no English at all.

Process, Plant & Machine Operatives: 1 Process Operative 1 Plant and Machine Operatives 6 Transport Drivers and Operatives 1 Mobile Machine Drivers and Operatives 44% of asylum seekers in this category stated they were fluent in written and spoken English, with 11% stating they had few words written and spoken/no English at all.

Elementary Occupations: 3 Elementary Agricultural Occupations 6 Elementary Process Plant Operatives 4 Elementary Personal Services Occupations 1 Elementary Cleaning Occupation 1 Elementary Security Occupations Of the 15 asylum seekers in this category, 40% believed themselves to be fluent in written and spoken English, with 13% stating they had few words in written and spoken English/no English at all.

Other 4 (incl. 1 refugee): These included working for a Human Rights Organisation, working as an Aid worker, working for Price Water Cooper, and working as a First Aid worker.

Of the 3 asylum seekers in this field, 1 stated they were fluent in written and spoken English.

Ran own Business: 34 (incl. 4 refugees) Businesses ranged from owning retail shops like grocery and electrical shops to businesses offering a variety of services – for example, a cleaning business, construction business and take-away business.

Page 27

See Appendix 7 for more detail of all the businesses run by asylum seekers and refugees.

Of the 30 asylum seekers who stated they ran their own business, 27% stated they were fluent in written and spoken English, and 17% said they had few written and spoken words/no English. 25% of refugees were fluent in English and 25% stated they had few words written and spoken English/no English.

This analysis clearly highlights that many asylum seekers have come from countries where they were employed in areas that would have required a high-level education and diverse skills.

The analysis above illustrates the wide range of occupations and work experience of some asylum seekers and refugees living in the Northwest. It also goes some way to undermining the impression that asylum seekers are motivated solely by economics in travelling to the UK. Many of the professions in which asylum seekers were working in before leaving their country of origin are ones requiring a high level of education and skills and would have provided a relatively high standard of living.

The re-classification of employment experience in Standard Occupational Classifications (SOCs) to enable the robust analysis above necessarily excluded those respondents who provided only basic information on their work experience and therefore could not be classified appropriately. Respondents who stated that they had been a ‘housewife’, ‘student’ or ‘unemployed’ were also excluded as these categories are not recognised under the SOCs. 193 asylum seekers and 21 refugees were included in the re-classification exercise and analysis.

The tables below show the breakdown of work experience of asylum seeker respondents by the original categories, including ‘housewife’, ‘student’ and ‘unemployed’. In order not to lose the important information provided by the remainder of the respondents not included above, full details of their work experience is included in Appendix 5.

Asylum Seeker audit

Employment Category

Employment Experience Other Housewife Student Unemployed Ran Own Business Unskilled manual Semi-skilled manual Skilled Trades Process, Plant and Machine Opeatives Personal Services IT Administrative and Secretarial Assoc. Professional and Technical Professional Professional Occupations Managers and Senior Officials Armed Forces Agriculture 0

2

4

6

8

Percentage

Page 28

10

12

14

Refugee Audit:

Employment Category

Employment Experience Other Housewife Student Unemployed Ran Own Business Unskilled manual Semi-skilled manual Skilled Trades Process, Plant and Machine Opeatives Hotel & Catering Sales and Customer Services Personal Services IT Administrative and Secretarial Assoc. Professional and Technical Professional Professional Occupations Managers and Senior Officials Armed Forces Agriculture 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Percentage

4.10 Refugee Settlement An additional number of questions were specifically asked of refugees, aimed at gathering information on their aspirations for long-term settlement. Respondents were asked if they would settle permanently in the Northwest, their employment aspirations, their preferred choice of training or educational courses (if any) and the barriers they believed they would face in achieving their choice of employment.

When asked whether they would stay in the Northwest, 68% (21) did want to remain in the Northwest, 26% (8) did not, and 6% (2) of respondents replied that they did not know.

When asked what sort of employment they would be looking for, 42% (13) replied that they would be looking for work in the following areas - factory work, interpreting, clothing/tailoring industry, media, football related work, industrial work, computer related, police force, airline pilot and the airlines. 16% (5) of respondents stated that they were not looking for employment, 13% (4) replied that they were looking for anything, 19% (6) did not know and 10% (3) did not respond.

Page 29

When asked what sort of training they would like to receive, the most frequent answer was English, with 9 respondents listing this as a training priority. Other answers included: computing (4) gardening (1) bilingual work (1) teaching (1) media (1) pilot’s licence (1) painting/decorating (1) hairdressing/nursing (1) education (1) A total of 5 respondents did not know what training they would like to receive, 3 replied anything, 1 respondent replied this was not applicable and 5 respondents did not respond to this question.

Respondents were also asked what they felt would make it difficult for them to find the kind of job they wanted. By far the most frequent barrier highlighted was a lack of English (61%). The table below outlines the responses in full:

Difficulties Envisaged

Frequency

Lack of English

17

Health

3

Childcare responsibilities

2

Lack of references

2

Availability of jobs

2

Qualifications not accepted

1

Lack of skills

1

A further 2 respondents were not sure what barriers to employment they would face and a further 5 did not respond to this question.

Page 30

5. Conclusion The skills audit was designed to provide a ‘snap-shot’ of the educational and employment histories of asylum seekers and refugees living in the region. This report should enable service providers to recognise the potential positive contribution of asylum seekers and refugees towards the economy and skills base within the region, and encourage agencies to include the needs of this diverse group within their own strategic planning.

The North West Consortium (East) and NWDA hope to use the skills audit results to inform the development of a regional employment and training strategy for asylum seekers and refugees in the Northwest.

A regional strategy on refugee employment should include the following aspects: Liaison with Employers: The NWDA and employment agencies could encourage the creation of links between refugees and regional employers, to remove barriers between jobs and those skilled to do them. The form these links take could include the creation of a regional Refugee Employment Forum to facilitate the dissemination of information to employers on asylum and refugee issues, work permits, overseas qualifications and related legislation governing the right to work. There may be scope to assist with the establishment of support services for employees in the workplace – perhaps a formal/informal mentoring scheme, and help could also be extended to potential refugee employees, offering them valuable work-based placements that would enable them to use their skills and gain experience. Existing employee-rights organisations could be encouraged to target information and advice at refugee and asylum seeking populations, to advise on issues such as the National Minimum Wage. Furthermore, a commitment could be extended to refugees seeking to set up their own business and those wanting to volunteer as a method of gaining work experience.

Liaison with Employment Agencies: A regional strategy could look to encourage liaison with employment agencies in much the same way as employers, by assisting with the provision of pertinent information both for employers and potential employees, and by promoting refugees as skilled workers particularly in skill-shortage fields.

Community Cohesion: A regional strategy needs to place employment at the centre of its plan to empower refugees and asylum seekers, and would highlight the positive contribution they make to communities. Fair and balanced media coverage of asylum seeker and refugee issues is also vital in dispelling popular misconceptions about the value of diversity within the region.

Development of links with Further Education Colleges and ESOL teachers: A regional strategy for the employment of refugees could look to assist education providers where appropriate. For example, the results of education audits amongst asylum seeker and refugee populations could be used by local colleges in planning the provision of courses. The NWDA could investigate potential sources of funding for colleges to enable them to provide for employer demands for work-based ESOL courses, other vocational courses, and to establish support networks to enable those with professional qualifications to utilise them or retrain as necessary.

Referral systems: Central to any regional strategy could be the formulation of referral systems between employers, employer agencies, education providers and local authority teams in order for referrals of clients with Leave to Remain (Indefinite Leave, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave) to appropriate education and employment service providers. An employment strategy would have to build in an evaluation process to ensure that the advice given to clients was appropriate and successful.

Page 31

Research: A regional employment strategy for refugees could be strengthened by an ongoing audit of the skills and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the region. The compilation and dissemination of this data to employers would increase the awareness employers have of this valuable client group and would provide a regular pattern of movement in and out of the region.

Qualitative Research: A regional employment strategy could benefit from the inclusion of refugee opinions in research on general barriers to employment, and from their suggestions for making the transition to employment smoother.

By pursuing these suggestions there may be the potential to breakdown structural barriers to integration and minimise the marginalisation and exclusion of this client group. Inclusion in the economic prosperity of the region would also impact positively on people’s sense of belonging and empowerment. This in turn, may contribute overall to the perception amongst existing communities of the value and potential contribution of asylum seekers and refugees to the UK.

Page 32

Appendix 1 – Breakdown of Nationalities

2

India

11

Other Asian

1

3

Others/Not Known

16

Pakistan Afghanistan

21

9

Other Middle East

44

Iran Iraq 1

Gambia

3

Uganda

3

Nigeria

13

Zimbabwe

3

Angola Democratic Republic of Congo

26

14

Rwanda

14

Ethiopia

3

6

Sudan

Other African

6

Somalia

3

2

Sierra Leone

Other South American

6

Russia Romania

4

2

Poland

1

Czech Republic

6

1

Colombia

2

Other Former USSR

5

Albania

Turkey 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

3

Other Former Yugoslavian

No. of Asylum Seekers

45

Country

Nationality of Asylum Seekers

7

Algeria

Page 33

Appendix 2 – ‘Other’ Languages Asylum Seekers - Breakdown of ‘other’ category in Languages

Language Armenian

All that Apply

Main Language

Can Speak

Can Read

Can Write

2

0

2

0

0

Bakou

1

1

0

0

0

Bosnian

1

0

1

1

1

Chiluba

1

0

1

1

1

Crio

1

1

1

0

0

Edo

1

1

1

1

1

English

20

9

19

17

17

Fula

1

0

1

1

1

German

1

0

1

0

0

Gujrati

1

1

1

1

1

Gypsy

1

1

1

1

1

Hebrew

0

0

0

0

1

Ishan

1

1

1

1

1

Italian

2

0

2

1

1

Kirunish

1

1

1

0

1

Lango

1

1

1

1

1

Lithuanian

1

1

1

1

1

Luganda

2

2

1

1

1

Mandinka

1

0

1

0

0

Mongolian

2

2

2

2

2

Ndebele

5

3

4

4

4

Oolof

1

1

1

0

0

Ratan

1

1

1

1

1

Romany

1

1

1

1

1

Shona

8

6

8

8

8

Sindhi

1

1

1

1

1

South Korean

1

0

1

1

0

Swahili

0

0

1

0

0

Xhosa

1

0

1

1

1

Zulu

2

2

2

2

2

Not known

5

5

4

4

4

All that Apply

Main Language

Can Speak

Can Read

Can Write

Burundi

1

0

1

1

1

English

11

7

6

8

8

Refugees

Language

Page 34

Saraik

1

0

1

0

0

Shona

1

0

1

1

1

Not known

1

0

2

0

0

Appendix 3 – Language Analysis Language Analysis: Asylum Seekers

No. of Languages that Apply

1 Language 20.8%

2 Languages

3.1%

3 Languages 4 Languages

64.27%

149.64%

No. of Languages Asylum Seekers can speak

1 Language 4.2% 22.10%

2 Languages 3 Languages 4 Languages

68.32%

121.56%

Page 35

No. of Languages Asylum Seekers can Read

1 Language 8.4%

2 Languages

2.1%

3 Languages 4 Languages

61.30%

132.65%

No. of Languages Asylum Seekers can Write

1 Language 2 Languages 8, 3.9%

4, 0.5%

3 Languages 4 Languages

56, 27.3%

140, 68.3%

Page 36

Language Analysis: Refugees

No. of Languages that apply

1 Language 2 Languages 3 Languages 2, 7%

8, 27%

20, 66%

No. of Languages Refugees can Speak

1 Language 2 Languages 3 Languages 2, 8%

7, 28%

16, 64%

Page 37

No. of Languages Refugees can Read

1 Language 1, 4%

2 Languages 3 Languages

7, 26%

19, 70%

No. of Languages Refugees can Write

1 Language 1, 4%

2 Languages 3 Languages

7, 26%

19, 70%

Page 38

Appendix 4 – FE/HE Subjects Asylum Seeker audit FE/HE Subjects

Frequency

Accountancy

2

Administration/ Banking & Finance

1

Biology

3

Business/Administration

3

Chemistry

1

Civil Engineering

1

Commercial Studies

1

Cosmetic and Beauty

1

Economics

1

Electronics

3

Engineering

2

Geography

1

Geology

1

Hairdressing

1

Health

1

Industry

1

International Relations

1

IT

2

Law

1

Literature

2

Maths

1

Mechanical Engineering

2

Mechanics

1

Medicine

1

Music

1

Muslim History and Geography

1

Nursing

1

Psychology

3

Purchasing

1

Secretarial

1

Teaching

6

Technical Diploma

1

No Information Total

54 104

Page 39

Appendix 5 – Employment Experience Analysis Asylum Seeker audit Employment Experience

Sample occupations

Agriculture

Farmer

Armed Forces

Managers & Senior Officials

Professional Occupations

Associated Professional & Technical

Administrative & Secretarial

Page 40

Frequency 14

Worker on Farm

3

Dairy Technician

1

Intelligence Officer

1

Soldier

1

Navy

1

Dept. International Development

1

Airport Manager

1

Lecturer

1

Lecturer- Mechanical Engineering

1

Teacher

7

Primary School Teacher

4

Journalist

1

Doctor

2

General Medical Technician

1

Psychologist

1

Trainee Lawyer

1

Police Officer

2

Central Intelligence Officer

1

Human Rights Organisation

1

Engineer

1

Guitarist

1

Computer Engineer

1

Bank Assistant

1

Accounts

1

Lab Technician

1

Electrician

1

Motor Mechanic

1

Government Organisation

1

Mechanical Engineer

1

Teacher

1

Clerk

1

Clerk- Ministry of Agriculture

1

Auditor in bank

1

Secretary

2

Administrator in oil company

1

Administrator in medical company

1

Employment Experience

Sample occupations

Frequency

IT

Commercial Buyer in IT

1

Personal Services

Pastor

1

Sales & Customer Services

Hotel & Catering

Process, Plant & Machine Operatives

Skilled Trades

Security Guard

1

Information & Advice Worker

1

Cosmetics

1

Hairdresser

2

Barber

1

Piano Teacher

1

Sales- American Express

1

Petrol Station Supervisor

1

Shop Assistant

4

Assistant in Food Shop

1

Assistant in family bookshop

1

Chef

2

Waitress

1

Family Restaurant

1

Manager Restaurant

1

Butcher

1

Driver

1

Machine Operative

1

Packing

1

Civil Engineer

1

Electrician

5

Building Trade

3

Motor Mechanic

4

Driver

2

Crane Driver

1

HGV Driver

1

Manager at Print Works

1

Factory Worker

2

Carpenter/ Joiner

1

Metal Welder

1

Glass Fitter

1

Hairdresser

1

Barber

1

Page 41

Asylum Seeker audit (continued) Employment Experience

Sample occupations

Semi-Skilled Manual

Building Trade

1

Upholster

1

Unskilled Manual

Ran own business

Ran own business

Other

Page 42

Frequency

HGV Driver

1

Decorator / Welder

1

Packing

1

Textile Mill Worker

1

Garage Mechanic

1

Electrician

1

Factory Worker

1

Shop Assistant

1

Painter

1

Electrical Shop

1

Electrical Repair Shop

1

Construction Business

2

Textiles Business

1

Garage & Video shop

1

Cleaning Business

1

Rice Business

1

Clothing Business

3

Hairdresser

3

Barber

1

Taxi Driver

1

Grocery Shop

3

Export Business

1

Butcher

1

Coffee Shop

2

Events Organiser

1

Goldsmith

1

Sweet Shop

1

Market Stall

1

School

1

Human Rights Org.

1

Aid Worker

1

Housekeeper

1

Care Worker- hospital

1

Nurse

1

Taxi Driver

1

Librarian

1

Asylum Seeker audit (continued) Employment Experience

Sample occupations

Frequency

Shop Keeper

1

Shop assistant

1

Social Worker

2

Gardener

1

Cleaner

1

Price Water Cooper

1

Musician

2

Refugee audit Employment Experience

Sample occupations

Armed Forces

Retired Major

1

Professional Occupations

Football coach

1

Journalist

1

Airline Flight Attendant

1

Personnel Worker

1

Bank Cashier

1

Clerical Assistant

1

Worker in newspaper Company

1

Shop

1

Shop Assistant

1

Administrative & Secretarial

Sales & Customer Services

Frequency

Sales

1

Sale Representative

1

Skilled Trades

Goldsmith

1

Ran own business

Fruit & Veg Stall

1

Other

Shop

1

Electrical Shop

1

Confectionary Business

1

Musician

1

Page 43

Appendix 6 – Employment Experience in Relation to Fluency in English Writing in red corresponds with the responses given by refugees only, all other information relates to asylum seekers.

Occupations and figures in blue or green indicate the level of English Language the respondent felt they had.

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

MALE

0

1

0

3

1, 1

0

0

1

0

1

0

MANAGERS & SENIOR OFFICIALS CORPORATE MANAGERS Corporate Managers and Senior Officials

Production Managers

Dept. of International Development

1

Print works

1

Airport Manager

1

Functional Managers Quality and Customer Care Managers Financial Institution and Office Managers Managers in Distribution, Storage and Retailing Protective Service Officers

Intelligence Officers (1,1) Retired Major

Health and Social Services Managers MANAGERS & PROPRIETORS IN AGRICULTURE & SERVICES Managers in Farming, Horticulture, Forestry and Fishing Managers and Proprietors in Hospitality and Leisure Services

Page 44

Catering

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

Managers and Proprietors in Other Service Industries

OCCUPATION

Petrol Station Supervisor

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

MALE

1

1

0

0

3

1

0

0

3

2

0

0

16

4

3

0

GENDER UNKNOWN

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS Science Professionals Engineering Professionals Civil engineer (1), Mechanical engineer (1), Engineer (1) Information and Communication Technology Professionals HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Health Professionals Doctor (1,1), Psychologist (1) TEACHING PROFESSIONALS Teaching Professionals

Lecturer (1), Lecturer Mechanical Engineering (1), Teacher (2, 3,1), Primary school teacher (3, 4), Piano teacher (1)

RESEARCH PROFESSIONALS

Page 45

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

GENDER UNKNOWN

BUSINESS & PUBLIC SERVICE PROFESSIONALS Legal Professionals

Trainee Lawyer

1

Business and Statistical Professionals

Auditor - Bank

1

Social worker (2), Pastor (1)

3

Librarian

1

Lab technician

1

Nurse (1), General Medical technician (1)

2

Architects, Town Planners, Surveyors Public Service Professionals Librarians and Related Professionals

ASSOCIATED PROFESSIONAL & TECHNICAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS Science and Engineering Technicians Draughtspersons and Building Inspectors IT Service Delivery Occupations HEALTH & SOCIAL WELFARE ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS Health Associate Professionals

Therapists

Page 46

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

Social Welfare Associate Professionals

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

MALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

Care worker (1), Information & Advice worker (1)

2

0

1

0

Soldier (1), Navy (1), Police Officer (1,1)

4

1

0

0

4

1

0

0

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

PROTECTIVE SERVICE OCCUPATIONS Protective Service Occupations

CULTURE, MEDIA & SPORTS OCCUPATIONS Artistic and Literacy Guitarist (1), Occupations Musician (2, 1) Design Associate Professionals Media Associate Professionals

Journalist (1,1)

2

1

0

0

Sports and Fitness Occupations

Football Coach

1

1

0

0

IT Buyer (1), Property Dealer (1)

2

0

1

0

Personnel worker

1

BUSINESS & PUBLIC SERVICE ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS Transport Associate Professionals Legal Associate Professionals Business and Finance Associate Professionals Sales and Related Associate Professionals

Conservation Associate Professionals Public Service and Other Associate Professionals

Page 47

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

MALE

ADMINISTRATIVE & SECRETARIAL ADMINISTRATIVE OCCUPATIONS Administrative Occupations: Gov. and related organisations Administrative Occupations: Finance

Clerk - Ministry of Agriculture (1), Government organisation (1)

2

1

0

0

Bank assistant (1), Accounts (1), Bank Cashier (1)

3

0

1

0

Clerk(1), Administrator Oil company (1), Administrator Medical company (1), Clerical assistant (1), worker in newspaper company (1)

5

0

1

0

2

0

2

0

Administrative Occupations: Records Administrative Occupations: Communications Administrative Occupations: General

SECRETARIAL & RELATED OCCUPATIONS Secretarial and Related Occupations Secretary (2)

Page 48

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

SKILLED TRADES SKILLED AGRICULTURAL TRADES Agricultural Trades

Farmer (4, 8, 2), Gardener (1)

15

2

0

0

7

1

0

Metal Welder (1,1)

2

1

0

0

1

0

0

Motor Mechanic (3,3)

6

3

0

0

Computer Engineer (1), Electrician (3, 4)

8

Construction Trades

Carpenter/joiner (1), Glass fitter (1)

2

1

0

0

Building Trades

Building Trade (1,3), Painter (1)

5

Upholster

1

Chef (1,1), Butcher (2)

4

1

0

0

Goldsmith

1

SKILLED METAL & ELECTRICAL TRADES Metal Forming, Welding and Related Trades Metal Machining, Fitting and Instrument Making Trades Vehicle Trades Electrical Trades

4

0

0

SKILLED CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TRADES

1

0

0

1

0

0

TEXTILES, PRINTING & OTHER SKILLED TRADES Textiles and Garments Trades Printing Trades Food Preparation Trades Skilled Trades

Page 49

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

PERSONAL SERVICES CARING PERSONAL SERVICES Healthcare and Related Personal Services Childcare and Related Personal Services Animal Care Services LEISURE & OTHER PERSONAL SERVICES Leisure and Travel Services Hairdressers and Related Occupations

Housekeeping Occupations

Airline Flight Attendant

1

0

1

0

Hairdresser (1,2), Barber (1,1), Cosmetics (1)

6

2

1

0

1

0

0

Housekeeper

1

Shop Assistant (3,3,2), Shop assistant - food shop (1), Shop Assistant Family Bookshop (1)

10

0

3, 1

0

1,1

0

0

Sales representative (2)

2

1

1

0

Personal Services Occupations

SALES OCCUPATIONS Sales Assistants and Retail Cashiers

Sales Related Occupations

Page 50

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

FEMALE

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

0

0

1

1

0

0

1

0

0

GENDER UNKNOWN

PROCESS, PLANT & MACHINE OPERATIVES PROCESS, PLANT & MACHINE OPERATIVES Process Operatives

Dairy Technician

1

Plant and Machine Operatives

Machine Operative

1

HGV Driver (1,1), Taxi Driver (1), Driver (1,2)

6

2

0

0

Crane Driver

1

1

0

0

Farm worker (1,1,1)

3

1

0

0

Packing (1,1), Factory Worker (3), Textile Mill Worker (1)

6

1

0

0

Assemblers and Routine Operatives Construction Operatives TRANSPORT & MOBILE MACHINE DRIVERS & OPERATIVES Transport Drivers and Operatives

Mobile Machine Drivers and Operatives

ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS ELEMENTARY TRADES, PLANT & STORAGE RELATED OCCUPATIONS Elementary Agricultural Occupations Elementary Construction Occupations Elementary Process Plant Occupations

Page 51

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

1

0

0

4,0

1,1

0

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

1

0

Elementary Goods Storage Occupations ELEMENTARY ADMINISTRATION Elementary Administration Occupations Elementary Personal Services Occupations

Waitress (1), Restaurant Worker (2,1)

4

Elementary Cleaning Occupations

Cleaner

1

Elementary Security Occupations

Security Guard

1

Human Rights Organisation

1

Aid Worker

1

Price Water Cooper

1

First Aid Worker

1

2

1

0

0

1

0

0

6, 1

2

0

0

1

0

Elementary Sales Occupations

OTHER

RAN OWN BUSINESS Total: Ran Own

Page 52

Business:

34

Barber

1

Butcher

1

Events Organiser

1

Goldsmith

1

Hairdresser

3

School

1

ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

RAN OWN BUSINESS (continued)

OCCUPATION

FREQUENCY

FLUENT -WRITTEN & SPOKEN, FLUENT SPOKEN

FEW WORDS WRITTEN AND SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH

MALE

MALE

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

1

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

2

1

0

FEMALE

GENDER UNKNOWN

Total: Ran Own Business: Taxi Driver

1

Coffee Shop

2

Electrical Shop (1,1)

2

Electrical Repair Shop

1

Grocery Shop

3

Garage & Video shop

1

1

0

0

Market Stall, Fruit & Vegetable Stall 2 Shop Keeper (1,1)

2

Sweet Shop

1

Cleaning Business

1

Clothing Business

3

Confectionary Business

1

1

0

0

Construction Business

2

1

0

0

Export Business

1

Rice Business

1

1

0

0

Takeaway Business

1

1

0

0

Textiles Business

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

Page 53

Appendix 7 – Types of ‘Own Business’ Asylum Seekers and Refugees Ran own Business

Frequency

Barber

1

Butcher

1

Events Organiser

1

Goldsmith

1

Hairdresser

3

School

1

Taxi Driver

1

Coffee Shop

2

Electrical Shop

1,1

Electrical Repair Shop

1

Grocery Shop

3

Garage Video Shop

1

Market Stall / Fruit & Vegetable Stall

1,1

Shop Keeper

1,1

Sweet Shop

1

Cleaning Business

1

Clothing Business

3

Confectionary Business

1

Construction Business

2

Export Business

1

Rice Business

1

Takeaway Business

1

Textiles Business

1 34

Note: Information in red corresponds with the responses given by refugees only.

All other information relates to details provided by asylum seekers.

Page 54

Appendix 8 – Questionnaires Asylum Seeker Questionnaire Nationality: Europe FRY Turkey Other Former Yugo.

Albania Other Former USSR Romania Other Russia Ukraine Poland Czech Republic Americas Columbia Other Ecuador Africa Somalia Sierra Leone Other Dem. Rep. Congo Angola Rwanda Ethiopia Sudan Zimbabwe Nigeria Uganda Algeria Ghana Kenya Ivory Coast Gambia Tanzania Middle East Iraq Iran Other Asia Afghanistan Sri Lanka Pakistan Other China India Bangladesh Others/Not Known

Tick which applies:

Language:

Tick all that apply:

Main language

Can speak this language

Can read in language

Can write in language

Kurdish Farsi Arabic Dari French Pushtu Somali Romanian Albanian Urdu Portuguese Russian Turkish Czech Polish Swahili Lingala Tamil Tigrean Spanish Amharic Sorani Punjabi Other Age: -18 18-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Gender: Male: Female:

Please tick:

Dependents:

Number:

Main Carer?

Pre-school: Primary school age: Secondary school age: Adult: Other Adults in 'family': Total:

Please tick:

Page 55

Employment Experience:

Tick all that apply:

How long did Details:

you do this work?

Agriculture: Armed Forces: Managers & Senior Officials: Professional Occupations: Associated Professional & Technical: Administrative & Secretarial: IT: Personal Services: Sales & Customer Services: Hotel & Catering: Process, Plant & Machine Operatives: Skilled Trades Semi-skilled manual: Unskilled manual: Ran own business: Unemployed: Student: Housewife/home-based carer: Other:

Schooling

Tick all that apply:

Primary High School FE/HE None Not known Other:

English Language Proficiency:

Tick which applies:

Fluent written & spoken Fluent spoken Some written & spoken Some spoken Few words written & spoken No English at all ESOL qualification

Page 56

For how Details:

long?

Refugee Questionnaire Nationality: Europe FRY Turkey Other Former Yugo.

Albania Other Former USSR Romania Other Russia Ukraine Poland Czech Republic Americas Columbia Other Ecuador Africa Somalia Sierra Leone Other Dem. Rep. Congo Angola Rwanda Ethiopia Sudan Zimbabwe Nigeria Uganda Algeria Ghana Kenya Ivory Coast Gambia Tanzania Middle East Iraq Iran Other Asia Afghanistan Sri Lanka Pakistan Other China India Bangladesh Others/Not Known

Tick which applies:

Language:

Tick all that apply:

Main language

Can speak this language

Can read in language

Can write in language

Kurdish Farsi Arabic Dari French Pushtu Somali Romanian Albanian Urdu Portuguese Russian Turkish Czech Polish Swahili Lingala Tamil Tigrean Spanish Amharic Sorani Punjabi Other Age: -18 18–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–49 50–59 60+

Gender: Male: Female:

Please tick:

Dependents:

Number:

Main Carer?

Pre-school: Primary school age: Secondary school age: Adult: Other Adults in 'family': Total:

Please tick:

Page 57

Employment Experience:

Tick all that apply:

Details:

How long did you do this work?

Agriculture: Armed Forces: Managers & Senior Officials: Professional Occupations: Associated Professional & Technical: Administrative & Secretarial: IT: Personal Services: Sales & Customer Services: Hotel & Catering: Process, Plant & Machine Operatives: Skilled Trades Semi-skilled manual: Unskilled manual: Ran own business: Unemployed: Student: Housewife/home-based carer: Other: Schooling

Tick all that apply:

For how Details:

Primary High School FE/HE None Not known Other: English Language Proficiency:

Tick which applies:

Fluent written & spoken Fluent spoken Some written & spoken Some spoken Few words written & spoken No English at all ESOL qualification Are you intending to stay in the Northwest?

What sort of employment will you be looking for?

What sort of training/education courses would you like to take?

What things do you think will make it difficult for you to find the kind of job you want?

Page 58

long?

7. Bibliography Fiona Aldridge & Sue Waddington, ‘Asylum Seekers’ Skills and Qualifications Audit Pilot Project’, NIACE, 2001 Alice Bloch, ‘Refugees opportunities and barriers in employment and training’, Department for Work, 2002 Hildegard Dumper, ‘Missed Opportunities: A skills audit of refugee women in London from the teaching, nursing and medical profession’, Mayor of London in association with Refugee Women’s Association, December 2002 ECRE, ‘Position on the Integration of Refugees in Europe’, December 2002 T Heath, R Jeffries & A Lloyd, ‘Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2002’, 28 August 2003, p.1-14 Home Office, ‘Full and Equal Citizens: A strategy for the integration of refugees into the United Kingdom’, 2000.

Home Office Press Notice 276/2003 Immigration and Nationality Directorate website: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk Skillsbase website: www.skillsbase.dfes.gov.uk

Page 59

8. Glossary

Page 60

BMA

British Medical Association

DWP

Department of Work and Pensions

EEA

European Economic Area

ELR

Exceptional Leave to Remain

ESOL

English for Speakers of Other Languages

GMC

General Medical Council

ILM

Intermediate Labour Market

JSA

Job Seekers Allowance

LA

Local Authority

NASS

National Asylum Support Service

NHS

National Health Service

NIACE

National Institute of Adult Continuing Education

NINO

National Insurance Number

NRIF

National Refugee Integration Forum

NVQ

National Vocational Qualification

NWDA

Northwest Regional Development Agency

PGCE

Post Graduate Certificate in Education

RCN

Royal College of Nursing

The Northwest Regional Development Agency manages all operations from its Headquarters at: PO Box 37 Renaissance House Centre Park Warrington WA1 1XB Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 100 Fax: +44 (0)1925 400 400 e-mail: Information@nwda.co.uk

In addition, there are five area offices for the implementation of local activities as follows: Greater Manchester Giants Basin Potato Wharf Castlefield Manchester M3 4NB Tel: +44 (0)161 817 7400 Fax: +44 (0)161 831 7051

Cumbria Gillan Way Penrith 40 Business Park Penrith Cumbria CA11 9BP Tel: +44 (0)1768 867 294 Fax: +44 (0)1768 895 477

Merseyside Station House Mercury Court Tithebarn Street Liverpool L2 2QP Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 100 Fax: +44 (0)151 236 3731

Lancashire 13 Winckley Street Preston Lancashire PR1 2AA Tel: +44 (0)1772 206 000 Fax: +44 (0)1772 200 049

Cheshire Brew House Wilderspool Park Greenalls Avenue Warrington WA4 6HL Tel: +44 (0)1925 644 220 Fax: +44 (0)1925 644 222 Visit: www.nwda.co.uk & www.englandsnorthwest.com

NWDA KADM 01/05 18788